Teen pleads guilty to killing father in East Tennessee

GREENEVILLE — An East Tennessee teen charged with killing his father has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as jury selection was set to begin for his trial.

The Greeneville Sun (http://bit.ly/2dl5hSA) reports 18-year-old Zachary Thomas Blanchard entered the plea Monday morning and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

He and three other teens were arrested in 2014 in South Carolina after a 10-hour search. They had apparently planned to go to Myrtle Beach.

Blanchard, who was 16 at the time, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 36-year-old Robert J. Blanchard at their home in Greene County. Police say he took his father's van, money, several guns and ammunition.

Police say the other teens joined him after the shooting. Their cases were handled in juvenile court.

Read or Share this story: http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/crime/2016/09/26/teen-pleads-guilty-killing-father-east-tennessee/91113308/